Post Graduate/APRN Certificate

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Purpose

This distance education Post Graduate/APRN Certificate program is designed for registered nurses who have earned a master’s or doctoral degree in Nursing and seek to expand their education in a new specialty area. Certificate programs are offered in all NP concentrations available in the Master of Science in Nursing degree program. Graduates of our accredited online certificate programs are eligible to sit for national board certification examination upon program completion of the respective concentration. A review of official transcripts will determine a student’s course of study. A certificate of program completion is awarded, not a degree.

Students admitted to the nurse practitioner program who have previously taken an Advanced Pharmacology course are advised to contact their State Board of Nursing to determine if their Pharmacology course meets the criteria set for length of time allowed from taking the course to the date of applying for prescriptive privileges.

Admission Requirements

See the Master of Science in Nursing admission requirements.

Student outcomes for each of the following concentrations can be found in the Master of Science in Nursing section of this handbook.

The Curriculum

Concentrations

Adult - Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner

(27 credits or less pending review of previous coursework)

All courses are 12 weeks in length.

Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse Practitioner

(29 credits or less pending review of previous coursework)

All courses are 12 weeks in length.

Family Nurse Practitioner

(30 credits or less pending review of previous coursework)

All courses are 12 weeks in length.

NOTE:

**Required for completion of certification by students enrolled Fall 21 and after.

Residency Requirements*

An on-site residency is required for nurse practitioner students enrolled in NSG 500 - Advanced Health Assessment , in order to demonstrate advanced physical assessment skills. In addition, nurse practitioner students in the following clinical courses may be required to complete an on-site residency, based upon the location of the clinical practice site. During residency, direct supervision and evaluation of the student will be completed by nurse practitioner clinical faculty at his/her designated clinical practice sites. Each course syllabus dictates the terms of the specific course residency.

Clinical Requirements

Further details of clinical requirements for each concentration area are provided to students in Passan School of Nursing Graduate Program Student Handbook.